You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
